Report: One Lakers player has demanded a trade

One Los Angeles Lakers player wants to be traded (again).

Lakers swingman Dalton Knecht recently approached the team’s front office and asked for a trade, Lakers writer Anthony Irwin of Offside reports this week. Irwin notes that Knecht would like to find a new home before the Feb. 5 deadline.

The 24-year-old Knecht was the Lakers’ first-round draft pick in 2024 (No. 17 overall) and showed some glimpses of offensive promise as a rookie, averaging 9.1 points per game on strong 46/38/76 shooting splits. But Knecht has completely cratered in his sophomore year, now averaging 4.8 points per game on 44/32/69 shooting splits.

As as result, Knecht has fallen out of the Lakers’ rotation entirely. He has not made a single appearance for the team since Jan. 18 and has not seen more than five minutes in a game since Jan. 13.

Also complicating matters is the fact that the Lakers already (technically) traded Knecht once. At last year’s trade deadline, they agreed to send him to the Charlotte Hornets as part of a proposed package for Mark Williams. But that deal fall through after the Lakers controversially failed Williams on his pre-trade physical, and Knecht has seemingly never recovered his confidence in Los Angeles since then.

The ex-Tennessee star Knecht is still on his rookie contract and cannot become even a restricted free agent until the summer of 2028. Perhaps the Lakers will be looking to send him out as part of a trade for one of the top defensive players that they are targeting ahead of the deadline.